Why Care About Obamacare?

BMCC Business major Subas Dhunten remembers what it was like not to have healthcare insurance.

“I’d had no coverage since 2010, and when I got sick and wound up in the hospital, it cost me a lot of money,” he says. “It was very bad.”

Dhunten’s situation has improved dramatically of late. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, he now has good coverage at a manageable cost, not to mention newfound peace of mind.

Dhunten, who will graduate this May, was one of more than 100 students who packed a Chambers Street lecture hall on March 5 for a workshop on Obamacare led by Patricia Gottier of the Financial Planning Association of New York (FPANY).

Entitled, “Why Care About Obamacare?”, the event was part of BMCC’s Moneyworks financial literacy seminar series and organized jointly by the FPANY and MoneyWorks.

Rising healthcare costs—but little to show for it

“It’s no secret that healthcare inflation is one of our most serious issues,” Gottier says. “Unlike many other countries, the U.S. doesn’t have a government healthcare system, so a lot of people are left out in cold.”

Meanwhile, soaring costs are squeezing physicians and hospitals as well as patients, she adds. “We seem to spend a lot more on healthcare than other countries, yet we aren’t any healthier.”

The good news is that, after last year’s bumpy rollout, Obamacare is working. In her presentation, Gottier provided a clear and compelling overview of the Affordable Care Act’s main provisions, including the rule prohibiting insurers from rejecting an applicant because of a pre-existing medical condition. “Insurers are now required to cover 10 ‘essential benefits,’ and they cannot place annual or lifetime limits on those benefits,” she told the audience.

Those benefits include inpatient, outpatient and emergency room care; lab tests; prescription drugs; prenatal, maternity and newborn care; mental health and substance abuse treatment; services and devices to aid recovery of skills lost from injury, disability or chronic condition; preventive services such as counseling and vaccines; and pediatric care.

Making it painless to sign up

Like many people, Dhunten was stymied by frustrating delays and technical glitches when he first tried to log onto healthcare.gov last year. But those early issues have since been addressed and, to date, more than 4 million people have signed up.

Following the MoneyWorks presentation, students who hadn’t yet enrolled had an opportunity to do so at a Single Stop table outside the lecture hall. In addition, the Single Stop office has a Navigator to assist students in applying.

“I’m really glad to have healthcare coverage again,” Dhunten says. “The MoneyWorks workshop and the Q&A session afterwards taught me a lot about how Obamacare works, and how to get even more out of it.”

Pass Go—Collect Your Federal Financial Aid

Doing paperwork may be no one’s idea of a good time. But students who thronged to this year’s Financial Aid Awareness day genuinely appeared to be having fun completing and filing financial assistance application forms. Turnout at the annual event was at record levels.

“Of the 24,000 students enrolled at BMCC each semester, at least 75% receive financial aid in one form or another,” notes Ralph Buxton, the college’s director of financial aid. “The purpose of Financial Awareness Day is to help students learn about all the options available to them, get their questions answered and file their 2014-2015 FAFSA on the spot.”

Filing the FAFSA is the first step in securing financial aid. But because the process can be tedious and even stressful for some, Financial Aid Awareness Day has been designed as a fair over the past several years, with balloons, contests and prizes. This year’s event, which took place on the Richard Harris Terrace, was modeled on the board game Monopoly, renamed “FAFSAPOLY” for the occasion.

FAFSA—the acronym stands for “Free Application for Federal Student Aid”—is the form used by the Federal government to determine a student’s eligibility for financial assistance, including grants and scholarships.  Applicants must provide detailed information about a long list of variables, such as their income, taxes, and dependency status.

Raising awareness—and comfort levels

Financial Aid counselors and student leaders were on hand to answer questions and guide students through the application process.

“Many BMCC students are from low-income families and depend on financial aid in order to pay for their education,” says student leader Hakeem Ingraham, a fifth-semester Business major. “Our goal for the day was to provide information in a comfortable and enjoyable setting.”

A festive air prevailed. “Apart from the great presentations, moving around the ‘board’ from station to station was really fun—and a terrific interactive experience,” says Liberal Arts major Ray Sukhu. “For example, students interested in scholarships could find out whatever they needed to know at Scholarship Street.”

No time like the present

“We use the event as a way to kick off financial aid processing season for the upcoming school year,” Buxton says. “Since students must reapply annually, it’s best if they do it now—or by the end of the spring semester.  They shouldn’t have to scramble when they return to school in the fall.”

For Gizelle Sanchez, a first-year Human Services major, one of the best things about Financial Aid Awareness Day “was the opportunity to start my application right then and there, with knowledgeable people around to help me and answer my questions.”

Liberal Arts major Joshua Boyles says that financial aid “has made it possible for me to do something never done before in my family—attend college.” Nonetheless, the Fair opened his eyes “to how little I really knew about financial aid,” he says. “I had an opportunity to ask a lot of questions and get solid answers that will actually help me in my financial planning.”

If there was one message that came out of Financial Aid Awareness Day, it was “apply early.” Students who file early enough can receive up to half of their Federal financial aid 10 days before the semester begins, Buxton says.

Perhaps no less important, students who apply now will find that everything is squared away by the fall, he adds, “and they can focus on their education without worrying about how to pay for it.”

Students can complete the FAFSA online or can apply on paper by mail. The Office of Federal Student Aid strongly recommends the online option because it conducts immediate error checking, and may speed the application process by a few weeks.

It Happens Every Spring

Remy Morel wasn’t sure what to expect when she attended BMCC’s Spring Career Fair a year ago. But showing up proved a smart move—it’s how she landed her first job.

Since then, says the BMCC Business Administration major, “I’ve found the Fair to be a great way to build connections, see what kinds of jobs are out there, and learn new things.”

Morel was one of more than 700 BMCC students to throng this semester’s Fair, which took place in the college gym. The twice-yearly event is sponsored every fall and spring by the Center for Career Development and BMCC’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP).

The Fair drew recruiters from over 80 employers in the business and financial services sectors, as well as education, government, healthcare and human services. Citibank, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Streetwise Partners, the US State Department, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Lifespire Inc. were among those who participated.

Up close and personal

Tito Saavedra, a graduating Business Administration major considering a career in the insurance field, spent part of his time at the Fair speaking with recruiters from the American Arbitration Association.
“They were offering some interesting opportunities in my field—and they were willing to take the time to answer my questions,” he says.

“Many employers recruit through Career Express, BMCC’s online career services management system,” notes BMCC employer relations specialist Shemeka Braithwaite.

“But the opportunity for students to meet face-to-face with so many recruiters in one place—to ask questions, network, and apply for jobs in person—is invaluable.”

The students aren’t the only ones to benefit from those up-close-and-personal interactions. “Throughout the year, the Career Development office works hard to foster great relationships with employers,” she says. “Among other things, we want to make them feel welcome at the Fair—and to feel that this is an event that’s definitely worth their while.”

The Fair is clearly succeeding on that front. According to Ulysses Grosso, Community Partner Manager for Workforce1 for upper Manhattan and Staten Island, “Workforce1 is a New York City agency that helps prepares and connect qualified candidates to job opportunities in all five boroughs.”

At the Workforce1 booth, Grosso was recruiting for openings in food service, retail, security and healthcare.

“We’ve partnered with BMCC over the past five years and have had great success in putting many students in part-time jobs,” he says. “BMCC does a wonderful job getting students ready to take full advantage of the Fair while enabling us to see a lot of people in the course of a single day.”

One day, multiple options

Liberal Arts major Shamik Bernal plans to transfer to a four-year college—and, hopefully, a nursing program—after earning his associates degree next year.

“One of the things I like most about the Career Fair is that it makes it so easy to explore many different options,” he says. “That’s also one of the great things about starting out at BMCC—you have so many different careers to choose from.”

To be sure, the value of connecting with recruiters in person doesn’t override the importance of establishing a compelling online presence. At an interactive booth, students received personalized advice on writing their LinkedIn career profile. On hand to help was BMCC career advisor Juli-Anne Brockway.

“It’s important these days that career-minded students have a presence in all the social media—especially LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter,” Brockway says.

“One of our aims is to get them comfortable with that.” The Fair also afforded students an opportunity to practice their “elevator pitch” with potential employers—a 60-second summary of their education, relevant experience and skills, and their reasons for wanting to work for their company.

“The elevator pitch is the student’s first opportunity to introduce him- or herself and make a great impression on the employer,” Braithwaite says. “Hopefully, it will also be a lasting impression.”

The attacks that felled the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, also destroyed BMCC’s Fiterman Hall—and with it, fully a third of the college’s instructional space. But the college rebounded quickly. After a three-week shutdown, classes resumed in eight doublewide trailers set up along the West Side Highway.

The trailers, which housed 16 classrooms, were used until June 2012, when they were rendered unnecessary by the imminent opening of the new Fiterman Hall. But it has taken the college till now to secure the necessary state and city permits and clearances to begin removing the mothballed structures.

“Getting all the ducks in a row has been a complicated undertaking, to put it mildly,” says Scott Anderson, VP-Administration at BMCC. Like just about everyone in the BMCC and Tribeca communities, he is happy to see the trailers go. “In both a symbolic and practical sense, people feel really good about finally being rid of them,” he says.

As Catherine McVay Hughes, chairperson of Community Board 1, told the Downtown Express, the structures, which had stood idle for nearly two years, eventually came to be viewed as a blight in the neighborhood.

Coming out of retirement

To be sure, the trailers filled a critical need for classroom space for over 12 years. Moreover, in the fall of 2012, five months after the trailers were mothballed, they were lent to FEMA—the Federal Emergency Management Agency—for use in post-Sandy disaster relief efforts. The trailers were also made available to DC37, the municipal employee union, when its downtown headquarters were flooded by the storm.

“It’s remarkable that the trailers helped our community get back on its feet after not one, but two major disasters,” says Thomas Ching, BMCC’s Director of Buildings and Grounds. And while the trailers themselves are being disposed of, the furniture they held has been donated to other CUNY institutions.  “Even as the trailers go, their legacy lives on in terms of sustainability.”

In dismantling the trailers, the contracting firm of Slater Associates took pains to keep pedestrian walkways clear of debris and otherwise ensured that safety was not compromised.

“Since these are doublewide trailers, the work initially involved separating the two halves, which are joined by a heavy steel beam,” explains Jerry Bivona of Slater Associates. “In the interests of safety, we did the first stage of the dismantling by hand, and then came in with machines to take down the rest.”  The pieces were then trucked up the West Side Highway to a processing facility.

Repairs and restoration

While the pavement on which the trailers sat will require repairs, it appears in reasonably good shape and restoration is expected to go smoothly. “We’ll make sure that the sidewalks are restored, the trees are protected and all cobblestones lie flat,” says Bivona. “Ideally, when the work is completed, you shouldn’t be able to tell that the trailers were ever there.”

For BMCC and the Tribeca community, the removal of the trailers is both a seminal event in local history and a cause for rejoicing.

“It means that we’re moving forward and building something positive,” says Ching. “Of course, that very resilience and determination has defined BMCC since the day it opened.”

Michael C.Hattem, a teaching fellow and research assistant at Yale, was tapped to do a textual analysis of an unprecedented American document written in 1775.

An unexpected find

The document is entitled Letter from the Twelve United States Colonies, by their delegates in Congress to the Inhabitants of Great Britain.

This document was long thought to be lost, but in July 2013 archivist Emilie Gruchow discovered it in the attic of the Morris-Jumel Mansion in New York City, once the headquarters of George Washington. Until  Gruchow found the draft, only the final, printed version had been known to exist.

Gruchow turned to Hattem, a former classmate of hers, after she came across an 18th-century manuscript, to provide analysis of document’s handwriting and whether it was actually its first draft.

Who wrote it and why?

According to The New York Times, Hattem “analyzed the handwriting on the yellowed pages of the manuscript and did textual analysis that led to an unexpected conclusion: The document was written by Robert R. Livingston, a prominent New York jurist who had been on the fence about whether to support independence for the colonies.”

The document was the last expression of hope by the colonies to reconcile with the people of Great Britain, and not its king, George III.

It is considered by scholars of American history as the prelude to the Declaration of Independence, which Livingston helped draft with Thomas Jefferson.

Hattam’s research raises document’s value

When the document came up for auction, Keno Auctions wrote, “Scholar Michael Hattem of Yale University stated the document is ‘… the missing piece from the culminating moments in which the colonists began to think of themselves not as British subjects, but as American citizens’.”

While the manuscript was indeed monumental, the trustees and director of the Morris-Jumel Mansion had decided to auction off the manuscript because they needed to guarantee the “long term survival” of the Mansion.

The sale was scheduled for January 26, 2014 and the estimated selling price was $100,000 to $400,000. But, after some heady bidding, the document sold, in Michael’s words, for a “record setting $912,500.”

In a note to BMCC’s Alumni Director Patricia Splendore, Michael said, “It’s all been incredibly exciting.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to let you and BMCC know.”

What he is working on at Yale

Michael Hattem, a former BMCC Foundation Scholar, is writing his dissertation on British North America, “specifically colonists’ historical memory of 17th-century Britain and the ways in which it shaped the political culture of the colonies as well as the coming of the American Revolution.”

The working title is “Their history as a part of ours: History Culture and Historical Memory in British America, 1720–1776.”

BMCC students face many challenges, but few can say they faced the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania.

In fact so far, there’s just one: Human Services major Carmen Miranda, who hiked Africa’s tallest mountain with the same perseverance she applies to her studies.

It was no walk in the park.

“The temperature would quickly drop from about 80 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and sunglasses were mandatory,” Miranda says. “The light from the snow can damage your eyes.”

Not only that, she says, as the landscape transformed from forest to alpine desert, “people were starting to feel altitude sickness, throwing up and getting dehydrated.”

On the fifth day, as they made their final ascent, the weather worsened dramatically.

“It would rain, then be sunny, then start snowing. It was crazy. It was windy and starting to hail, and it stung your face,” says Miranda.

“You had to put one foot right in front of the other, or you’d slide down the mountain. We were walking in zigzags, one guide to each hiker.”

Only 15 out of 25 people made it to highest peak, Gilman’s Point, “and I was the second one to get there,” she says. “I was the first female and the first from New York to make it to the very top.”

A desire to conquer challenges

Last summer, Carmen Miranda worked with a mural team, creating a canvas next to a public work by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. The opportunity came through a summer youth employment program and the nonprofit organization Creative Art Works (CAW).

It was then that she met CAW executive director Brian Ricklin, and six months later—sponsored by CAW—found herself climbing Kilimanjaro.

“Carmen expressed a desire to conquer challenges,” says Ricklin. “We watched her grow in so many ways during her artistic work experience and then mature exponentially as our ambassador in Kenya and Tanzania.”

Once there, she met youth leaders from other community-based organizations around New York City and East Africa, says Ricklin, who also joined the climb.

What young people experience as they ascend the mountain, he says, “has to do with teamwork as well as their own inner strength, very similar to the artistic process.”

Staying balanced

Carmen Miranda’s “inner strength” has served her well.

“I grew up in 15 foster homes,” she says, adding that she attended three high schools, and graduated from Manhattan High School in midtown Manhattan.

“My best subject was science. I enjoyed learning about plants, and doing experiments with chemicals,” but most of all, she says, “I love to draw.”

Her talent was mentored through CAW’s Summer Artworks 2013 mural project, in which she helped create a mural now hanging in the AXA Equitable Center in Manhattan, as well as a piece for Whole Foods Market.

She has also taken painting and life drawing classes at BMCC, where she majors in Human Services, is part of the Student Government Association and works in the mailroom.

She balances all this while keeping her grades up, finding a quiet place to study in the apartment she shares with four foster siblings; the youngest is a 2-year-old.

She related well, it turns out, with the 10 youths from Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and the U.S., who took part in the climb.

“They were awesome!” she says. “There weren’t in foster care, but they’ve struggled with unemployment or losing their parents. I definitely made some new friends.”

Pace yourself

For Carmen Miranda, the climb—organized by Kilimanjaro Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organization based in Nairobi, Kenya, and funded by the United Nations Federal Credit Union and private donors—began at JFK Airport.

Participants flew 18 hours to Amsterdam, then eight more to Kenya, and from there, she says, “we rode five hours on a bus from Oloitoktok, Kenya to their based camp at Marangu, Tanzania.”

For the first few days, they took practice hikes.

“Part of the training was to teach us to take it one step a time. It’s all about your pace. If you move too fast, you can’t breathe.”

There is also a danger of falling, she explains, as snow depletion on Mount Kilimanjaro—which serves as a kind of barometer for climate change—“causes the slopes to be unstable. It’s all going to melt someday.”

Lifelong memories

The hike went faster on the way down. The youths played soccer and talked about their experience.

“I learned how to self-reflect and take things day-by-day, how to set little goals for myself,” says Miranda.

She’ll never forget the experience or the companionship.

“Everyone spoke English, also Swahili, and were students or worked. Two of them had been to New York. They came from cities, like me, except one, who was a Masai. I adored the kids from Africa. They’re so gorgeous and curious.”

The adoration was mutual.

“On the first hike, they were pinching me because they wanted to see if I’m real,” she says, laughing.

“When we left, I got their email, their Facebook. We’re already in touch. A couple of them want to come to BMCC. I told them it’s a very diverse place.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are age 16 to 24 and interested in a summer job through Creative Art Works (CAW), you can apply online for the 2014 Summer Youth Employment Program and select a provider that partners with CAW: The New York Mission Society, Inwood Community Services or Catholic Charities Community Services/Alianza. Applications are selected by lottery and the deadline is April 24, 2014.

If are interested in applying to join next year’s Kilimanjaro Initiative climb or want more information, please contact Judy Waithira at waithira@kilimanjaroninitiative.org

Recently, BMCC student Rada Mayya Kostadinova was one of four CUNY students to receive honorable mention for the Barry M. Goldwater scholarship, the premier federally funded scholarship for undergraduates in the sciences, engineering and mathematics.

Thousands of students are nominated for this award, and their undergraduate research experience weighs heavily in the selection process.

According to James Airozo, Director of Student Academic Awards, CUNY, “only a very small number of community college students nationwide are honored as Goldwater scholars and honorable mention simply because they have less research experience than the juniors with whom they are competing.”

The science research projects Kostadinova took part in at BMCC significantly sharpened her edge, in the competition.

“By presenting and taking part in the research, I was able to overcome my fears and I’m much more comfortable in what I know and what I do,” she says.

Building research skills

With science professor Patricia Deleon, Kostadinova participated in the research project “Reiki Treatment on Colon Cancer Cells,” and co-presented a poster at the 2013 Student Collegiate Science Technology Entry Program (C-STEP) Statewide Conference sponsored by Syracuse University and held at Lake George, New York.

With Professor Abel Navarro, she took part in the research project “Bio-Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewaters by Spent Tea Leaves,” and co-presented a poster at the 2013 Earth Science and Climate Change Conference in Las Vegas.

The science knowledge and lab skills she has learned provide a base on which to reach her ultimate goal, she says, becoming a periodontist, “and conducting my own research about growing teeth from stem cells.”

Taking control

Rada Mayya Kostadinova grew up in Bulgaria, and lives with her two sisters in Queens, New York.

“I did not know any English when I moved here in 2011,” she says. “One thing that helped me was movies, books and magazines, and my sisters spoke English with me at home.”

She started college at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), in Manhattan, “because in high school I showed talent working with fabric and drawing, but even then, I really wanted to be a dentist,” she says.

Finally, “I decided to take control of my own life and applied to CUNY,” she says. “I worked all summer to pay for my tuition at BMCC.”

Working in the dental field appeals to her “for personal reasons,” she says. “There are a lot of cases of people dying because of mistakes in their dental care in Bulgaria.”

As a child, she witnessed her own father’s painful experience with misdiagnosed peritonitis, or gum disease.

“Once I become a dentist, I will have the choice of going back there for part of my career, to improve the care people receive,” she says.

This summer, she is volunteering in a dental clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. She also just began an internship in a private dental practice.

“I’ll be answering phones but also handing him the tools as he does procedures, and shadowing him as he examines patients,” she says.

Excelling at BMCC, then Queens College

At BMCC, Kostadinova was a Foundation Scholar, a member of Phi Theta Kappa and on the Dean’s List. She also found time to volunteer at New York Presbyterian Hospital “giving patients water and offering emotional support,” she says, and at the New York Blood Center.

Now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology at Queens College, CUNY, “I got a full tuition scholarship from their Transfer Honors Program,” she says, and her next step is to attend dental school at SUNY Stonybrook.

“When I look back, I’m so glad I found BMCC,” Kostandinova says. “The people are amazing and the professors are incredibly helpful. They really want you to do well.”

“Rada is the kind of student who never loses time,” says Professor Navarro.

“She is always looking for opportunities to build her profile and improve her research skills. She has a perfect GPA, but she goes beyond the classroom to understand biological concepts and what directions science can go in.”

Making Tax Day Less Taxing

Each year, the days leading up to April 15 are a whirl of intense activity for BMCC’s Single Stop program. As the tax filing deadline draws near, the number of students stopping by the program’s office (199 Chambers Street, S235) to have their tax returns prepared swells dramatically.

Tax preparation is part of a varied suite of services available free of charge to students through Single Stop, according to Deborah Harte, student life manager for the program at BMCC. Operating at all six CUNY community colleges, and working with both external and internal partners, Single Stop also provides financial and legal counseling as well as assistance in applying for government-sponsored nutritional, healthcare and childcare programs.

“Students come to us typically because they’re experiencing financial difficulties that get in the way of their studies and may even keep them from getting to school,” says Harte. “We can often help them take advantage of options they otherwise wouldn’t know about.”

As a first step, Harte’s staff will assess the specific types of counseling or government services for which the student may eligible. “To do that, we first need to find out what’s really going on with the student,” she says. “The student may say, ‘I can’t get to my classes because I don’t have a Metrocard,’ but in talking to her, we’re likely to learn that the problem goes deeper—perhaps that the student is jobless or even homeless.”

The goal, she says, is to help students stabilize their lives to they can stay in school and attend to their studies.

Easing the burden

Liberal Arts major Jacob Tidwell learned about Single Stop from a lobby sign about tax preparation services. “I met with a counselor who told me what documents to bring, and got my taxes done the next day,” he says. “It was a lot easier than trying to do it myself online.”

But other anxieties also weighed heavily on Tidwell. Because money was tight, he needed to work full time and even then had difficulty making ends meet. “Through Single Stop, I learned that I was eligible to receive food stamps through SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program],” he says. “It’s been a huge help. Now I can focus on academics and not lie awake at night worrying about money and work.”

Since its inception at BMCC in 2010, Single Stop has assisted some 10,500 students, providing them with some $23 million in services. The average refund received by students using the program’s tax preparation service is $1,400. “That’s a sizable amount of money that can be put toward relieving their financial pressures,” Harte says.

Serving a special population

To be sure, not all students qualify for SNAP or other government subsidies. In the early days of BMCC’s Single Stop program, Harte recalls, “It became evident to us that we needed to find a way to help our undocumented population. So we’ve invested a lot of time and energy in developing programs they can take advantage of, such as community-based healthcare with sliding-scale fees, and immigration seminars where they can learn about the steps to becoming documented.”

At a legal clinic held each semester, immigration attorneys help students begin the process of applying for US citizenship, or sponsoring relatives. The clinic, like all Single Stop services, is provided free of charge.

If Single Stop’s objective were boiled down to its essence, it would be “retention and graduation.”

Once students are on track to get the help they need, “we follow them and make sure that they’re able to continue with their studies and achieve success,” Harte says. “And when we get to graduation day, we get to celebrate with them.”

Searching for a job can be a tough job in itself—especially for students with heavy course loads, outside responsibilities and not a lot of free time. For them, BMCC’s twice-yearly Career Fair is a godsend: It makes looking for a job easy.

Resumes in hand, more than 600 students in business casual attire descended on the college gymnasium on September 24 to network, explore employment opportunities and speak with recruiters from some 76 companies and organizations across a wide range of fields, from hospitality to human services.

“You can’t overstate the value of being able to meet representatives from so many employers under one roof on a single day,” says BMCC employer relations specialist Shemeka Brathwaite.

A wider roster of recruiters

While last fall’s Fair was limited to the retail sector, “we decided to include all industries this time, based on what we’ve heard from students as well as employers,” Brathwaite adds. No classes were held while the Fair was on, enabling students to focus solely on connecting with recruiters with no outside distractions.

That said, those who took the time to prepare got the most out of the Fair. The Center for Career Development conducted mock interviews, workshops in filling out a job application, and “Resume Rush,” where students could bring their resume for on-site review.

Notwithstanding the advantage of meeting recruiters face-to-face, establishing a compelling online presence is crucial to an effective job search. At the Fair’s LinkedIn Photo Booth, students could have a professional headshot taken and learn how to create an effective LinkedIn career profile.

The Career Fair also afforded students an opportunity to practice their “elevator pitch” with potential employers—a 60-second summary of their education, relevant experience and skills, and their reasons for wanting to work for their company.

“The elevator pitch is the student’s first opportunity to introduce him- or herself and make a great impression on the employer,” Brathwaite says. “Hopefully, it will also be a lasting impression.”

Global strategy

Liberal Arts major Kenisha Pickering attended the Fair in the hope of finding a position in global compliance—a field in which she already has solid credentials. Born and educated in Panama, she also has experience in employee training, import/export trade regulations, and vendor relations.

Pickering chatted with three recruiters and came away with a particularly good feeling about her conversation with a recruiter from Santander Bank.

“I was encouraged to learn that they have a global trade department and left a copy of my resume with the recruiter,” she says. “I will definitely keep in touch with her.”

BMCC just launched a new series of curated exhibits in the Shirley Fiterman Art Center with the opening of Material Way, featuring the work of 14 contemporary artists: Kellyann Burns, Don Christensen, Lauren Clay, Diana Cooper, Peter Fox, Lisa Hoke, Jae Ko, Holly Miller, Nicholas Moenich, Paul Pagk, Anne Senstad, Sandi Slone, Wendy Small and Jan Maarten Voskuil.

According to curator Kathleen Kucka, the series “will be a platform for contemporary art that explores risk taking and sparks conversations on art.”

The opening itself inspired conversations about art and the use of innovative materials, such as those presented in an installation of tables and stools mounted to the wall, by Don Christensen.

“When I began I was painting on found wood; wood that I found in dumpsters and on the streets,” he says. “They’d have a lot of weathered paint and patinas on them, and that became my canvas.”

The work evolved as Christensen began painting on footstools and small tables he bought at yard sales and thrift shops—but it was hard to appreciate the artwork, he says, by looking down at tabletops; then, “just like that, one day I picked one up and went ‘Eureka’, and hung it on the wall—because they’re paintings, and you want to look at them that way.”

Another artist, Jae Ko, talked about her work made of paper, including a large installation piece that undulates and rises like a mountain range.

“This artwork is not made with material you can get from an art store,” she says. “It’s cash register rolls. It’s receipt paper … so those tiny rolls, I unroll and re-roll.”

She also submerges the paper “and work with a pool of water to make a shape. In the water they swell, and you get three-dimensional artwork.”

“A real unveiling of the space”

Loretta Lee, a friend of BMCC commented, “I think it’s a wonderful show,” and described how she and her husband, Raymond Lunney, exhibit art in a factory they own.

“We went over to China to look for artists and then we selected the art of one and hung it in our factory to let all our workers enjoy it,” she says, adding that she also supports the work of emerging artists: “We give them prizes and then they can continue to do their work.”

BMCC President Antonio Pérez commented, “I think this show is fantastic! We’ve got so many people here who have never been to the college before, and now they’ve identified with our institution and our students and faculty and programs. So it’s really an exciting and joyous occasion for all of us.”

Kathleen Kucka, the curator of Material Way—and of the series Art Ahead, that it is part of—remarked, “So many people are coming to the exhibit from all over New York and all over the art world. It’s a real unveiling of the space; for contemporary art and for artists that are in Lower Manhattan and from all over New York. People are so surprised that the space is so big. It’s a wonderful showcase.”

BMCC Provost Karrin Wilks agrees. “It’s such a beautiful space,” she says, “and as the President just said in his remarks, it’s a special space because this building was destroyed on 9/11 so it’s really risen from the ashes, literally, into this gorgeous space and this gorgeous opportunity for the community, for our faculty and students.”

The Shirley Fiterman Art Center, located in two spacious galleries on the first floor of BMCC’s new Fiterman Hall, has been open a year and already presented several major exhibits as well as special celebrity events that supported the BMCC Scholarship Fund.

“It’s really wonderful for the students who don’t get a chance to go to galleries and things like that, to have their own gallery right here at the college,” said Special Assistant to the President Robert Messina. “They’re never going to have that opportunity any place else. It’s wonderful.”

The art in Material Way is available for purchase; a portion of the proceeds benefits the BMCC Foundation, providing scholarships for deserving BMCC students.

A special session honoring BMCC mathematics professor Yibao Xu, who passed away unexpectedly in November 2013, was held as part of the 6th Annual International Symposium on Ancient Chinese Books & Records of Science & Technology on Saturday, October 4 in Richard Harris Terrace at BMCC’s main campus.

A number of speakers, colleagues and friends of Professor Xu as well as symposium participants who had traveled from China and other parts of Asia to join the proceedings, shared their memories of Yibao Xu—scholar, teacher, colleague and father.

“He was my eyes.”

One by one, former colleagues and friends of Yibao Xu approached the podium.

Jean Richard, a professor in the BMCC math department, spoke of the support Professor Xu provided as Richard was writing his dissertation: “He was generous, responsible, a brilliant researcher. He was my eyes and we miss him.”

Feng Lishen, a professor from the Institute for the History of Science and Technology & Ancient Texts at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, described attending the Institute for the History of Science and Technology with Yibao Xu at Inner Mongolia Normal University, and Guo Shirong, that Institute’s current director remembered Professor Xu’s generous support of graduate student researchers: “He always put others first.”

BMCC math professor Annie Han recalled, “Yibao is the one who turned me on to the history of mathematics,” and she described Professor Xu’s arrival at BMCC: “Joseph Dauben, a Distinguished Professor who was Yibao Xu’s advisor at the CUNY Graduate Center, contacted me and said, ‘I have this incredible doctoral student for you’.”

In addition to joining the mathematics faculty at BMCC, she said, “Yibao brought Chinese mathematics to CUNY.”

BMCC math professor Dwight Pierre, who also helped photodocument the memorial event, talked about visiting China with Professor Han and others from BMCC, inspired by Yibao Xu’s work. Mathematics scholar and researcher Wann-Sheng Horng told the audience, “Yibao will always be my younger brother,” and Michael Kent, a BMCC math professor, read a poem he had written in Yibao Xu’s honor.

BMCC Professor Lina Wu told the audience, “Yibao Xu set a good example for young mathematicians like me to follow,” and her colleague, Professor Samuel Sackeyfio, spoke of conversations he shared in the BMCC math department with Yibao Xu, “on how to improve our teaching and help our students improve their skill levels … he was very humble.”

Joseph Dauben read remarks by Professor Karen Parshall of the University of Virginia, who was not able to attend but wrote of her admiration of Yibao Xu, noting that, “the English translation and edition of the classic Chinese text, the Jiuzhang Suanzu (or Nine Chapters on the Art of Mathematics), on which he and Joe [Professor Dauben] worked in such close collaboration for so many years, will be a lasting testament to XU Yibao’s life and scholarly work.”

Last of all, Jonathan Xu—he and his brother Alex Xu are the sons of Yibao and Delia Xu—read remarks in honor of his father’s memory.

Passing on the love of mathematics

Afterwards, the group viewed a pictorial montage of Yibao Xu’s life; from his childhood in an island village of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, China, to his completion at the CUNY Graduate Center of a doctoral degree and dissertation devoted to concepts of infinity in Chinese mathematics.

Professor Xu joined the mathematics faculty at BMCC in 2003 and his last work, Nine Chapters on the Art of Mathematics, a Chinese-English critical edition appearing in the prestigious series, The Library of Chinese Classics, was published posthumously, culminating a decade-long project.

To enable mathematics students of tomorrow to carry on that legacy of learning and research, a scholarship fund “has been created in memory of Professor Xu,” explained BMCC Director of Major Gifts, Barbara Morgan, who attended the memorial service.

“We are looking to establish a scholarship in Professor Xu’s name, so that promising students in mathematics who otherwise would not have been able to continue their studies, can do so,” she said.

“The Yibao Xu Scholarship will keep his memory alive and pass on his love of mathematics to the next generation.”

Contributors to the Yibao Xu Memorial Scholarship Fund already include Paul Chen, Joseph Dauben, Yi Han, Wann-Sheng Horng, Michael Kent, Kyong-Hee Lee, Xuan Li, Goretti Ng, Fred Peskoff, Jun Liang Rice, David E. Rowe, Brunhilde Rowe, Lina Wu, Mingming Yin, Yong Xian Yu and Hong Yuan.

To join them, click here, and in the dropdown menu “Designation,” choose the Yibao Xu Memorial Scholarship Fund. Or contact Barbara Perry Morgan, Director of Major and Planned Gifts at 212-346-8650 or bamorgan@bmcc.cuny.edu.

BMCC Students with their certificates.

Thanksgiving came early for volunteers treated to a traditional turkey luncheon at BMCC’s Seventh Annual Campus Emergency Volunteer Recognition Ceremony in Richard Harris Terrace.

“Get your food first,” announced VP of Administration & Planning Scott Anderson.

Then, as guests enjoyed their buffet meal, Public Safety Director Ed Moss, Sergeant Jesus Ayala, Sergeant Benoit Couamin and Lieutenant/Assistant Director of Public Safety Angel Lopez handed out certificates to faculty, staff and students who serve as fire wardens on campus or have earned CPR, AED and First Aid certifications.

VP Anderson delivered opening remarks.

“We’re the only CUNY college that does free CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] and AED [automated external defibrillation] training,” he told the group.

“We want everyone—faculty, staff and students—to be able to respond to emergencies, not just on campus, but in your homes and communities. We all have a grandmother or child who may need our help.”

“Don’t let your certification lapse.”

He also spoke about BMCC’s participation in the CERT—Community Emergency Response Training—program sponsored by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the Department of Homeland Security.

Recognizing the dedication of BMCC’s volunteers, he noted that the college is open from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week.

“This means volunteers have to cover every area of the college for two shifts a day and more,” he said.

In closing, he thanked the “unsung heroes” on campus who participate in trainings and take on the responsibility of being volunteer fire wardens.

He also stressed that BMCC provides free re-training, for those whose emergency certification is about to expire.

“Don’t let it lapse,” he said.

“We’ll follow up with emails to remind you that you need to get a refresher even after you’ve left BMCC, but you also have to keep track of that expiration date. It’s a lot easier to take a 2-hour refresher course than a 3-day training.”

“Thanks, BMCC!”

One table at the luncheon was filled with students who had earned certifications in CPR, AED and First Aid.

These included liberal arts majors Sean Persaud and Varsha Jagjit; community health education major Nyasha Carmichael; business administration major Giulia Finetto; science major Kimberly Santiago-Negron; criminal justice major Symone Darby; math major Ivana Stanisavljevic and multimedia programming major Isabelle Garcia.

“I joined the emergency training to become more hands-on and actually assist in times of need, rather than running away,” said Symone Darby, and Nyesha Carmichael shared that, “As a health major I want to be more aware of my surroundings and with this program I am able to help in certain situations.”

“I’m so glad BMCC is giving me the opportunity to learn the basics of first aid,” said Isabelle Garcia. “Now I feel ready to respond to emergencies. Thanks, BMCC!”

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information on how to participate in free emergency response trainings at BMCC, contact Director of Public Safety Ed Moss at (212) 220-8076.

Veteran director Lee Percy was attending a film industry dinner in 2009 when he struck up a conversation with a waiter. By the end of the evening, he recalls, the waiter said, “You’re going to make a movie about my life.”

He was right.

The waiter was Praq Rado, who is currently a Communications major at BMCC, and the movie is Dreaming American, which was released in 2011 and has since won high honors and critical acclaim at a number of major international film festivals. The compelling 24-minute feature was directed by Percy and stars Rado, an accomplished actor, as himself.

The SGA (Student Government Association) is sponsoring a free screening of the film at Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Theatre I at 7:00 pm on November 6. Rado and director Lee Percy will be on hand to discuss the movie and answer questions.

Rado’s story, beginning with his impoverished childhood in a small village in Albania, is one of grueling hardship, danger, survival and courage. And it provides a telling look into the dark realities of the immigrant experience in America today.

Growing up in the world’s most isolated society, Prado was told he would never be anything more than a shepherd. “At 16, I left Albania for Greece, where I held two and three jobs at a time in order to send money back to my parents,” he says.

Working, studying and surviving

“I couldn’t write or read and I didn’t speak English, but I was determined to get an education and make something of myself,” he says. Meanwhile, his immediate concern was survival. He juggled full-time day jobs and night classes, where he learned English, and earned his GED. He sent most of his earnings home to his parents.

Rado was determined to make life in his new country work. But the lack of legal documentation—he had no passport, visa, or Social Security card—put daunting barriers before him. More than once he was threatened by the prospect of deportation.

“I started attending Westchester Community College, and while I was there, one of my professors encouraged me to audition for a school production,” he recalls. But Rado couldn’t afford to stay in college and dropped out. “But by then I’d discovered my love of the theater and began taking acting classes at the HB Studio in Manhattan.” He also began writing a screenplay about his life.

And then he met Lee Percy.

“First my father, and later my mother, became ill and died, and it was excruciating to know that I couldn’t leave the U.S. to be with him,” he says. “I incorporated that experience in my script, and when I showed it to Lee, he was very moved by what I’d gone through—and by my refusal to give up or let my spirits sag.”

Joining forces with a celebrated director

Over the course of his 35-year film career, Percy has edited three films that won top acting Oscars—Hillary Swank for “Boys Don’t Cry,” Jeremy Irons for “Reversal of Fortune,” and William Hurt for “Kiss of the Spiderwoman—and edited several movies for HBO Films, receiving an Emmy for “Taking Chance.”

“What caught my attention about Praq’s story was the incredible hardships he faced, the difficulty of his struggle, the indifference of the immigration bureaucracy, and how he survived by his wits,” says Percy. The opportunity to work with Rado has deepened his understanding of the immigrant’s plight in 21^st-century America.

“We hope audiences will find the film entertaining,” he says. “But we also want them to make an emotional connection to the main character and the challenges he faces.”

Following the release of “Dreaming American,” Rado traveled around the country to discuss the movie and the issues it raises at film festivals and other venues. “I’d go wherever it played—theaters, colleges, film festivals,” he says. “I wanted to be there to discuss the film with other immigrants.”

His undocumented status ruled out flying, so he always traveled by rail. While on an Amtrak train en route to the Hamptons International Film Festival—and a screening of his film—he was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents and held in a federal detention center in upstate New York.

Reaching for the dream

“That memory will stay with me forever,” Rado says. “There are so many kids who actually grew up in the U.S.—it’s the only country they’ve every known, and yet they’re being deported every day, with no one to help them, no one to turn to.”

Eventually, Rado was released from his detention cell. The experience upset him, but it didn’t deter him. “I believe that if you have a dream you can definitely reach it, regardless of the obstacles that are thrown in your path,” he says. “You just have to believe in yourself and know you can do it.”

If being pulled from that train and thrown into a cell was a low point in Rado’s new life, his high point came when he received his Social Security number. The very next day, he registered as a full-time student at BMCC. He will graduate next May.

He and Percy are currently at work on a full-length feature film inspired by Rado’s story. They have also a website—dreamingamerican.com—where immigrants can upload their stories and help build a compendium of first-person narratives.

“My dream is to continue my education and earn a degree—and to reach out to people in situations similar to my mine and do everything I can to help,” Rado says. “The idea for Dreaming American began with my own struggles, but it’s not just my story. It’s the story of millions of people living in the United States today.”

Editor’s Note: The Office of Student Affairs provides services for undocumented students, including the Dream.US Scholarship and immigration workshops through BMCC’s Single Stop.

BMCC Veterans Service Specialist, Wilfred Cotto with his staff.

There are some 4,500 senior and community colleges in the U.S., and while many offer a high-quality education, only a fraction are geared to the specific needs of student veterans. Within that small elite, BMCC is ranked among the best of the best.

That’s the word from the magazine Military Advanced Education (MAE), which has published an annual guide to the nation’s most veteran-friendly degree-granting institutions or the past eight years. BMCC has been listed as a “Top School” in the 2015 MAE Guide to College and Universities.

To make its Top School selections, according to MEA associate publisher Gwen Silverstein, the colleges are asked to complete a detailed questionnaire about policies and practices in four categories: military culture, financial flexibility, and support services—both online and on-campus.

“In meeting the needs of military veterans, there are certain basic things a school should be doing, such as participating in cooperative service opportunities with other colleges, and signing the Department of Defense’s Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding,” says Silverstein.

“Then we look at additional areas, such as providing special faculty training around the education of student veterans, and accepting experiential credits based on the student’s life experiences.”

Overall, MEA seeks to measure each school’s mindset as it relates to military veterans. “The schools with the highest ratings are entitled to use our ‘Top Colleges & Universities’ logo in their marketing, advertising and recruitment materials,” Silverstein says.

Helping veterans smooth the transition

BMCC’s leadership in this area is based on an awareness that for military veterans, the transition to academic life can be a bumpy ride. “In the military, you become accustomed to completing clear-cut missions and following orders,” notes Wilfred Cotto, who joined BMCC in 2013 as the Student Life Specialist for Veterans Services in Student Affairs.

“In contrast, the academic environment can feel confusing and frustrating, so we provide a wide range of services to help student veterans get acclimated and accomplish what they’ve set out to do.” Currently, there are approximately 400 military veterans enrolled at BMCC.

Cotto himself served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1977 to 2005, making several combat deployments to the Persian Gulf. His last tour of duty was aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, home-ported in Yokosuka, Japan.

BMCC’s responses to the MEA questionnaire revealed an academic institution with a solid and far-ranging commitment to student veterans.

“The questions were probing and exhaustive,” says Cotto “For example, does BMCC have a full-time veterans services coordinator? A student veterans club? A dedicated space on campus for veterans services? Do we have a veterans support team in place? Are there specific programs, events and orientation sessions tailored to the needs of student veterans? Do we comply with the US Veterans Benefits Administration’s Principles of Excellence? Do we conduct ongoing communication and outreach to veterans?”

In every instance, Cotto says, “we were able to answer with a resounding ‘yes!’”

BMCC’s connection with MEA dates back to Cotto’s tenure as Director of Veteran Affairs at CUNY from 2007-2012. “I was at a conference when I met an editor at the magazine who told me about the annual ‘Top Schools’ list,” he recalls. “He saw the extent of our services to veterans and thought we might want to consider applying—which we did when I arrived at BMCC.”

Cotto is quick to note that BMCC’s veterans services offerings are very much a team effort—one that draws heavily on the college’s staff, faculty and students, with cooperation and support from a number of departments including the registrar, bursar and financial aid offices.

Students play a lead role

“Right now we have two interns from the Hunter College School of Social Work, providing intervention and counseling services to student veterans; student veterans enrolled at BMCC who serve as peer mentors; three work-study students who support student veterans activities and services; and one college assistant,” he says. “The students are really the ones who have put most of this together.”

That said, Cotto views the college’s services to veterans as something of a work in progress.

“The MEA listing means that we’re recognized for doing the right things, and that is enormously gratifying,” he says. “But we’re really just getting started. I want to our service model continually improve and grow to the point where we’re the model for other colleges across the country.”

Bill Fisse, BMCC Foundation Board member and Citi HR Executive, presents a Leadership Breakfast talk.

“There’s nothing to talk about today that you don’t already know intuitively,” said Guest Speaker Bill Fisse before his presentation, Building Your Leadership Brand in Times of Change.

Wielding a wireless microphone, he walked through the audience in one of Fiterman Hall’s spacious conference suites, engaging students, faculty and staff in a spirited discussion of the brands of corporations including Starbucks and McDonald’s.

A 34-year Human Resources Executive at Citi, Bill Fisse serves as Managing Director of Global ICG Campus Recruiting & Program Management Strategy.

“We’re neighbors,” he said in his opening comments. “At Citi where I work, we’re right up the street from the College, and the partnership between BMCC and Citi is growing.”

BMCC President Antonio Pérez, in his welcoming remarks, noted that Fisse has also helped raise funds for student scholarships, has welcomed BMCC students into Citi’s summer internship program, and “really cares about you, our students, and our City.”

Brand perceptions

“You’re going to need more than academic excellence,” Bill Fisse told the students in attendance.

“You’re going to need a brand—your personal brand. It’s how people see you every day, a set of values other people resonate to, and understand.”

He also stressed that a person’s “brand” is constantly evolving, and sometimes perceived differently than we expect.

“I can tell you from my almost 35 years at Citi, people think they’re coming off one way, and the so-called water cooler talk is very different. Your brand needs to be aligned with the way you come across.”

Students contributed their observations of Starbuck’s brand image, then moved on to examine the brand characters of Singapore Airlines and McDonalds.

“A brand is a promise delivered through every experience a person has with a company,” said Fisse. “It’s not just want you’re buying. It’s what you’re buying into.

”The brand “hiccup”

“During ‘Occupy Wall Street’ I was told, ‘Don’t wear your Citi shirt to restaurants and public places,” Fisse shared, and explained that even the most established brands can experience a “hiccup” in how they’re perceived.

In addition to events like the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, many factors—including digitization and regulation—can impact on brand image, Fisse explained.

“Universities have brands, too,” he said, and presented as an example; the corroded brand image of Penn State (Pennsylvania State University), resulting from the actions of individuals including assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, now serving a life term for child molestation.

BMCC students shared their opinions about that event as well as the brand shifts associated with high-profile individuals like entertainer Miley Cyrus and golfer Tiger Woods.

Shifting focus to the students’ own personal brand, Fisse quoted business magnate Warren Buffet: “It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

The event closed with more Q&A, and afterwards, a crowd of BMCC students waited to shake hands with Fisse and exchange business cards.
EDITOR’S NOTE: To view the Power Point presentation that Bill Fisse presented as part of his talk, Building Your Leadership Brand in Times of Change, click HERE.

BMCC’s Fall 2014 Out-in-Two cohort. More photos.

BMCC has several programs aimed at supporting students in their goal to earn an associate degree in a timely manner.

One of these programs, Out in Two, was founded by BMCC President Antonio Pérez during the administration of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

“Giuliani was critical of community college’s graduate rate,” says President Pérez, “and I was determined that we would make a difference in that area. I believe students can graduate in two years if we put the right supports in place, and so we did that.”

Skills, knowledge and drive

The latest Out-in-Two cohort of 25 students gathered in Richard Harris Terrace for a ceremony welcoming them to the program.

“We will support you, but you have to do your part, too, such as maintain a ‘B’ average,” said President Pérez. “We also expect you to give back to others, and to take advantage of all that the College offers.”

BMCC Provost Karrin Wilks told the group, “You have the skills, knowledge and drive to get out in two years. We’re all aware of the financial, social and cultural benefits of Out in Two, but you will also have the opportunity to develop your leadership skills, and find out what you can contribute to the community at BMCC and New York City.”

“You’re why we’re here,” said Dean of Academic Affairs Erwin Wong. He challenged the Out-In-Two scholars to reach out to two other BMCC students who might be eligible for the program, and Vice President of Student Affairs Marva Craig encouraged them “to attend two events each month, outside the classroom, that BMCC offers.”

“It was life changing”

“At 25 students, this is the largest Out-in-Two cohort we’ve had so far,” said Senior Academic Advisor and Co-Coordinator of Out In Two, Mary Quezada. “It’s all thanks to an increase in our funding this year from the BMCC Foundation and other sources.”

Former BMCC Out-in-Two scholar Anabel Perez went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in public affairs at Baruch College, CUNY and is now working in the office of New York Assemblyperson Luis Sepulveda.

“As an Out-in-Two scholar, BMCC not only helped me save money for my tuition, but provided me with guidance to transfer to a 4-year college,” she said. “It was life changing.”

According to Mary Quezada, “We want to build not just a cohort of Out-in-Two scholars, but a community that includes alumni of the program, former Out-in-Two scholars who return to BMCC after they graduate, to speak to and support our current Out-in-Two students.”

Christopher Pierre, BMCC Academic Advisor and Co-Coordinator of Out In Two, reminded the new cohort, “It’s critical that you always remember to seek help when you need it, through peers, your professors and the staff who are in place here at BMCC to guide you.”

Scholars speak

Out-in-Two Club Vice President and BMCC science major Hajaru Hamza thanked the program’s staff “for being our family on campus,” and Randy Ramphal, a liberal arts major and Out-in-Two Club President, read an original poem about his experience in the program.

Morzina Nishi, part of the new cohort, says, “I first heard about Out In Two from my advisor, Brandon Graham. It seemed like a good investment for when I transfer to a senior college.”

New Out-In-Two scholar Jacob Vander Weide, a literature and writing major, is looking forward to support “like priority class selection when we register.” Weide, who owned his own construction company and worked as a bartender for 23 years adds, “I’d like to go to Columbia after I graduate from BMCC, for a double major in communications and creative writing.”

Video Arts and Technology major Patricia Latorre Siles says, “I’m from Spain, and for an international student, it’s even more expensive to attend college here. I needed help that the scholarship provides.”

Business management major Shernell Thomas shared that “for the last two years, I have volunteered in Trinidad at an organization called Women’s Motivational Services. We fill backpacks with school supplies for children. The Out-in-Two scholarship helps me save money, so I can to travel to Trinidad and continue that work.”

Group gifts

Each of the 25 new Out-in-Two scholars was awarded a plaque, a printout announcing the first of three deposits for their first Out-in-Two monetary award, and a BMCC key chain.

“As long as they maintain eligibility, the scholars receive $1,600 for three consecutive semesters,” says Out-in-Two Co-Coordinator Mary Quezada.

A catered reception followed the ceremony.

The entire Out-In-Two cohort includes Tohib Adejumo, Felix Appiah, Mathias Bantle, Ashley Baxter, Nyasha Carmichael, Mariya Considine, Delemira Deleon, Brittany Evans, Giulia Finetto, Jeanny Hernandez, Najwa Javed, Patricia Latorre Siles, Juliana Lefevre, Eliza Destiny Lopez, Yordy Ng Fung, Morzina Nishi, Jelissa Roberts, Yana Romanova, Kiefer Rondina, Devin Scholtterer, Seunghan Song, Shernelle Thomas, Jacob Bander Weide, Dennis Velez and Dellorice Wilson.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply to Out In Two, click HERE.

Raising domestic violence awareness at BMCC. More photos.

This year’s Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Activities featured workshops, a poster-making session, speaker event and Walk With Me Silent Procession, as well as three panel discussions and a symposium.

Sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, the events featured speakers from BMCC and other colleges.

They also provided experts from the NYC Mayor’s Office, the Center for Family Representation, the NYC Human Resources Administration, The Feminist Press at CUNY, Women for Afghan Women and other organizations, and stretched from Friday, October 10 through Thursday, October 28.

“It’s always about power and control.”

The series of domestic violence awareness events was kicked off with a 90-minute workshop led by Women’s Resource Center Director Deborah Parker, and offered in seven different time slots, she said, “so we could make it accessible to as many students, staff and faculty as possible.”

The workshop explained what groups are covered under the laws regarding domestic violence.

“There are five subgroups: elder abuse, child abuse, spousal and intimate partner abuse, sibling abuse and dating abuse,” says Parker.

“We also talked about why domestic violence is underreported and how it can happen with LGBT and same-sex couples, too; it’s always about power and control, whatever your orientation. It doesn’t matter what skin color you have, how much money you make or any of those things.”

“Hitting is not okay.”

Poster-making sessions were held to enable BMCC clubs and departments to create placards to carry in the Silent Procession throughout BMCC’s main building at 199 Chambers Street.

Youngsters of the BMCC Early Childhood Center also created posters, hand-stamping in bright tempura paints, signs that read, “Hands Are Not for Hitting” and “Hitting is not Okay.”

“We teach the children to speak to each other, when they have a conflict,” says Early Childhood Center Head Teacher Christina Best.

“You’d be amazed at how quickly they get it.”

These were displayed along the walls in Richard Harris Terrace, where speakers were gathered and a luncheon was held afterwards.

“Real men don’t hit women.”

Speakers at the opening domestic violence awareness event included Student Government Association (SGA) Senator Annzalena Yusuf, who read an original poem “based on my beliefs as a Muslim,” and added that “the prophet Muhammad said, ‘the strongest of men is he who restrains anger in moments of strife’.”

Other speakers were Giulia Finetto, treasurer of the BMCC Sisterhood Society, who noted that “domestic violence is one of the most underreported crimes around the world, and in the U.S., every 15 seconds a woman is battered.”

Science major Raul Perez shared his history as a perpetrator of domestic violence, in order to encourage other men to seek professional help for their behavior.

“I was arrested for domestic violence more than once,” he said. “The cost was losing my home and losing my wife. If you’re in an abusive relationship, get help immediately.”

BMCC President Antonio Pérez took the stage right after Raul Perez.

“That was very inspirational,” he said, and told the story of his sister, who experienced domestic violence but was able to leave her situation and restart her life.

“I share my story because it’s your story,” said the President. “It happens in all families.”

After the speakers, the audience began a silent procession through BMCC.

One participant, computer science major Mahamadou Doucoure from Mali, West Africa, was walking with the BMCC group, Partners Lending Universal Support (PLUS).

“As they say,” he commented, “real men don’t hit women.”

Prominent guest speakers

Three one-hour sexual assault panel discussions on domestic violence were held in Richard Harris Terrace and the Hudson Room, and presented an array of experts in their fields.

“There was a lot of participation,” says Director Parker. “I had to order more chairs! It went from the history of domestic violence, to situations today.”

The first panel was moderated by Professor Brianne Waychoff of the department of Speech, Communications and Theatre Arts.

It featured Professor Michael McGee of the Health Education department and ally to the BMCC’s Safe Zone program; science major Raul Perez, and Ashley Warner, a clinical social worker who has worked in crisis intervention for victims of domestic violence.

The second panel was moderated by Margaret Barrow, Deputy Chair of the English department, and featured three panelists: Chief Diversity Officer Iyana Titus; Vanessa Bing, professor of psychology at LaGuardia Community College, and Hannah Pennington, Executive Director of the Manhattan Family Justice Center in the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

The third panel, moderated by Priscilla Rogers-Fahy, Associate Director of the BMCC Counseling Center, featured Jennifer Baumgardner, Executive Director and Publisher of The Feminist Press at CUNY; Sabra Jackson, a parent advocate at the Center for Family Representation, and Robin Waite, Director of Public Education and Training in the Office of Domestic Violence, NYC Human Resources Administration.

A global perspective

The domestic awareness events also included a symposium on women and violence facilitated by Professors Olivia Cousins and Lisa Grace of the BMCC Health Education Department.

Speakers for that event included Sunita Viswanath, Co-Founder and Board Member of Women for Afghan Women; Attorney R. Evon Idahosa of the Pathfinders Justice Initiative and six-grade activist Rosa Lander, founding member of Girls Read for GirlsReadathon, a group of middle-school girls inspired by the courage of recent Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai, and which has raised over $5,000 for The Malala Fund.

Together, they presented “global perspectives on the presence and forms of sexual assault beyond the limited western framework of domestic violence, and that was an eye opener for many of our students,” says Professor Cousins.

“The pervasiveness of war and poverty, undergirded by corruption, often pushes us to a realization that there is much we do not know, regarding the limitations placed on the lives of women and girls worldwide.”

Where to go for help

Any person who wants to talk about domestic violence “should go to the BMCCCounseling Center,” says Deborah Parker.

“They have 12 licensed, clinical counselors who have a background in post-traumatic stress and other areas to help students begin to address these issues.”

Another option, she says, is the BMCC Women’s Resource Center, “because it’s recognized as an alternative safe space. Also, the BMCC nurse is very instrumental. Very often I refer the student to the nurse’s office because they want to talk to someone about a physical injury, and that’s a place to start.”

Or, a person can contact the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To read the CUNY policy on domestic violence and the workplace, click HERE.

More than 50 pre-high from around the city attended a special Open House at BMCC on October 14 to get the inside story on Manhattan Early College School for Advertising (MECA) from its principal, Dr. Matthew Tossman.

“At MECA, we’re all about opening up opportunities for students,” Tossman said in a 45-minute Q&A session with prospective MECA students, many of whom brought their parents. “Every decision we make is geared toward ensuring that our students are gaining the maximum benefit.”

In contrast to traditional high schools, MECA offers a six-year course, enabling students to earn a CTE-endorsed Regents diploma and an Associates Degree from BMCC, while gaining two years of work experience in advertising and media—all free of charge.

“That sets us apart from the 480 four-year high schools in New York City,” Tossman said.

MECA is a partnership involving the New York City Department of Education, CUNY, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies, with BMCC playing a lead role.

First-year MECA students take all their classes in the MECA building at on the 411 Pearl Street; they begin taking college courses on the BMCC campus as early as 10th grade.

Getting a jump on college

“By the end of your fourth year at MECA, you’ll have earned 30 college credits,” Tossman said. “If you decide to go on to a senior college at that point, you’ll start as a sophomore.”

Students who stay on for years five and six divide their time between classes in their major and a paid internship that aligns with their skill sets and career goals.
Abdul Badi
“That means when you apply for your first professional job after college, you’ll already have meaningful experience on your resume,” Tossman said.

As its name suggests, MECA is designed around advertising and media, offering majors in three areas—arts, multimedia and advertising/marketing. But its curricular focus is broader than many might assume.

“Many CTE(Career and Technical Education)programs are designed to prepare you for a specific job or type of job,” Tossman said. “If you know what you want to do, that’s fine—but our goal is to enable you to keep your options open. One of the great things about advertising and media is how big and varied the field is. It encompasses business, technology, marketing, creative writing, and graphic arts among other disciplines.”

Nonetheless, one prospective freshman asked where traditional secondary-level academics—English composition, math, history, basic science—would fit in the MECA curriculum. “Will I study Shakespeare here?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” Tossman answered. “Whatever CTE courses you take at MECA will be in addition to the standard high school curriculum.” Indeed, students take no college-level classes in their first year, easing into undergraduate coursework in their second.

Offering high school students a unique option

Lourdes Figueroa had taught high school English for 16 years when she changed jobs—and fields—to become MECA’s guidance counselor. “The idea of offering a young adult the option to stay in school through the first two years of higher education is simply phenomenal,” she said.

A major part of MECA’s appeal, Figueroa noted, is the ongoing, individualized support that’s “baked” into the school’s mission and culture.

“Parents sometimes express concern about our accelerated program,” Figueroa said. “They’ll say, ‘My son isn’t strong in math,’ or ‘My daughter hates science.’ But when they understand the continuity of support that we provide on both campuses at every step of the way, it takes them about five minutes to relax.”

Tossman also reassured the prospective students and family members that enrolling in MECA did not limit their career choices to advertising or media.

“The skill sets you learn at MECA—creative problem solving, strategic thinking, how to communicate your ideas clearly—will help you regardless of what field you go into,” he said. “Our motto is the same as BMCC’s: ‘Start Here, Go Anywhere.’ Our mission is makes certain you can go wherever your skills and passions point.”

On October 22, two speaker sessions to commemorate National Day Against Police Brutality were presented by Professor Yolanda Martín and co-sponsored by BMCC’s Criminal Justice Program and the BMCC/John Jay College Justice Academy.

Students from BMCC and John Jay College, as well as professors, staff and members of the community filled the steep rows of tiered seats in room N-451 at BMCC’s main campus building.

The impetus for the sessions was the recent events of Ferguson, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb that drew national attention when Michael Brown, an unarmed, 18-year-old African-American teen was fatally shot by police officer Darren Wilson, and the community responded with protests that captured national attention.

Hard questions

“Do we really know what happened [in Ferguson]? Why don’t we know?” asked the evening’s first speaker.

John DeCarlo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

He is also former Chief of Police of the Branford, Connecticut Police Department, and his talk, First Person: Why Some Police Departments Still Do Bad Things, also examined the recent death in Staten Island of Eric Garner, while under arrest for selling loose cigarettes.

Ramsey Orta, a friend of Eric Garner, made a cell phone video as police put Garner on the ground and subjected him to a chokehold.

DeCarlo discussed the case and asked questions such as, “Can white cops effectively police black communities? Can black cops effectively police white communities?”

In the weeks after Eric Garner’s death, he said, “36,000 cops were retrained and officers will face criminal charges,” and a student in the audience commented, “It was on camera, so they admit it.”

Another student added, “The police stereotype us just like we stereotype them.”

Deadly force

The second speaker, Delores Jones-Brown, directs the John Jay College Center on Race, Crime and Justice.

She is the author of Race, Crime and Punishment, as well as co-editor of The System in Black and White: Exploring the Connections between Race, Crime and Justice, and Policing and Minority Communities: Bridging the Gap.

Her talk, Fatal Profiles: Policing, Fear and the Danger of Racial Stereotypeschallenged the legitimacy of “deadly force,” and she reviewed the history of individuals killed while under arrest, including Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell and Eric Garner.

A student in the audience commented, “I find that now, after 9/11, with some of the tactics police are being trained in, they want them to be more like soldiers,” and Professor Jones discussed the use of “war language” in police education and training.

A history of uprising

The second panel session opened with a talk by Robert Garot, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and author ofWho You Claim: Performing Gang Identity in School and on the Streets, published by NYU Press in 2010.

Garot is also a facilitator for the Alternatives to Violence Project and has served as an advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Urban Institute.

To put Michael Brown’s recent death in a historical context, he reviewed uprisings related to police brutality from 1919, in Chicago, to the present protests in Ferguson, and asked, “Are these shootings aberrations or part of a larger pattern?”

He pointed out the disproportionate number of African Americans who are imprisoned—“three to one,” and presented an analysis of the “closed” police culture in which “control of the police is typically carried out by other officers.”

CopWatch in Sunset Park

Latinos Challenge Police Abuses in Sunset Park was the topic of the next speaker,Dennis Flores, organizer of El Grito de Sunset Park.

He is also a photojournalist, community activist and member of CopWatch, a community group that films police officers’ alleged misconduct and reports it.

Flores, who was imprisoned at age 16, became an advocate for prisoners’ rights, “making sure inmates weren’t hurting other inmates” and has worked with parents to organize against police brutality.

“In 2002 I was working as a peer counselor in a high school,” says Flores, “and I saw a youth I knew being beaten up by police officers at a subway station, in front of a token booth clerk.”

Flores photographed the incident and to get help, called the police from a phone booth—where he was maced, he says, by the officers he was reporting.

“Fifteen cops surrounded me. They crushed my camera and my head with a walkie-talkie. It took one and a half years for the charges against me to be dropped, and in six years we settled for $270,000.”

That settlement helped create CopWatch, a group that video records public events they identify as police brutality.

“It takes a group of disciplined people to not obstruct, and to form a chain of cameras to watch each others’ back,” Flores says, explaining that if one person is assaulted by police and his camera destroyed, the next person in the chain is recording the incident.

Most recently, CopWatch filmed a pregnant woman being pushed to the ground by police in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a video that garnered wide media attention, and resulted in an investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau of the police officers involved.

Know your rights

The evening’s final speaker, Djibril Toure, gave a talk entitled Telling Our Stories: Malcom X Grassroots Movement against NYPD Violence.

Toure is a college student, musician and business owner who has worked to make a change in the New York Police Department’s Stop and Frisk program. He has also advocated for passage of the Community Safety Act.

“I grew up in Bed-Stuy, and never had problems with police growing up,” says Toure. “[David] Dinkins was mayor then, and we had a black police commissioner,” Lee P. Brown.

Toure left his neighborhood to attend Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, “and when I came back, I was working as a musician and coming home late at night,” he says.

“One of these nights, a car rode by, put on its reverse lights, backed up a whole block and they said, ‘If you don’t show us some ID, you’re going to jail’. They searched me, went into my pockets, and I realized in the next few weeks, this was happening to everyone.”

Toure encouraged students to attend “Know Your Rights” workshops offered by theMalcolm X Grassroots Movement, the NYC Chapter of the National Lawyers Guildand others, so that they are informed and can handle being stopped by the police, in the safest way possible.

He also told the audience, “Find out what organizations you think are doing the right thing, and somehow make your voice heard.”

Know Your Rights workshop and Spoken Word event: December 3

Coming next in the Ferguson series of events is a Know Your Rights workshop led by Judge Sharon Bourne, at 11:00 a.m., and a Spoken Word Student Event at 12:30 p.m..

Both events are in N-451, on Wednesday, December 3.

For more information, please contact Professor Yolanda C. Martin, 212-220-5274.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The BMCC Criminal Justice Program in the Social Sciences and Human Services Department of BMCC is a transfer-focused partnership between BMCC and John Jay College, CUNY. Students first earn an Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice at BMCC, then a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice at John Jay College. For more information, call 212-220-1210 or click HERE.